Badstuber, who has been with the Reds in Doha, Qatar, for their winter training camp, will link up with his new team-mates immediately after passing a medical on Thursday.

The 27-year-old has made just three appearances under Carlo Ancelotti this term, and Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was happy for him to gain more match practice elsewhere.

"Holger deserves to play," said the 61-year-old. "He’s been injured so often but now he’s physically fit again and would like to play more games. That’s why he asked us to allow him to go out on loan to Schalke, and we gladly agreed. We hope Holger will get plenty of minutes under his belt in the coming months, and we wish him all the best.”

Badstuber himself was grateful to the Bayern hierarchy for allowing him to move and expressed his intention to make the most of his time with the Royal Blues. "I’m thankful that FC Bayern have complied with my request. I’d like to get some much-needed match practice at Schalke and I’m looking forward to my time in Gelsenkirchen."

Badstuber made his first-team debut for Bayern in August 2009 and was a regular for the side under previous coaches Louis van Gaal and Jupp Heynckes until he ruptured cruciate knee ligaments in a league game against Borussia Dortmund in December 2012.

A succession of setbacks relating to the knee injury, as well as hamstring and ankle problems, have restricted him to just 18 Bundesliga appearances in the last three-and-half seasons.

His contract in Bavaria is due to run until the summer, after which the 31-time German international will be a free agent.